In 1992 a friend of mine, who was studying Classics at University, asked me if I’d read Homer’s Odyssey. I said no and she said, “You should. It’s a great story.” I bought myself a copy and sat down to read it. What fascinated me more than the fact that it was an epic adventure full of mythical monsters and goddesses, was that it was one of the oldest performative texts in existence. Immediately I began to wonder how it might have been performed? I thought to my self, “what a fantastic challenge for an actor - to mount a solo performance of Homer’s Odyssey,” and left it at that.

It wasn’t until years later that I began to think of Odyssey again. This time it was different because I started to think of my parents and their own odysseys to Australia. I am a second generation Greek Australian, both my parents migrated from Greece after WWII. The greatest defining theme in Australia’s history since colonisation is migration. Whether from England, Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Vietnam, Italy, China or countless other countries, non-indigenous Australia began as a migrant society. The idea of linking Homer’s Odyssey to the journeys undertaken by my parents and the many migrants like them began to take shape.

The more I thought about my parents and their odysseys the more it became obvious that I was also seeking answers to the questions; “Who am I?” and “Where do I belong?” Growing up in Ballarat, in regional Victoria, the last thing I wanted was to be different from my peers. Despite having blonde hair and blue eyes, my parents owned a fish’n’chips shop and that marked me as a ‘wog’. The simple thing was to divorce myself from that which made me different; shame and denial marked my attitude to being Greek. It was not until I made my own journey back to Greece that I realised two fundamental things- that I was undeniably Greek, and my home was Australia.

These questions of identity and belonging are central to my performance called Odyssey. The performance weaves Homer’s classic Greek text about the journey of Odysseus through the story of my mother and father’s journey to Australia and through my own journey back to Greece to understand more about my culture, my parents and my identity. In a sense each family of migration has its own odyssey. The themes of identity, cultural pride and acceptance are universal explored in my production Odyssey and have a scope which reaches beyond Australia or Australian history. The journeytaken to findhome transcends the boundaries of language and nationality and resonates throughout time and history.

Andreas Litras

“A rare diamond, cut with taste and precision” – Canberra Times, 2002

"Beautifully comic emotive and searingly real" - Time out, London 2001

“a universal story told with love and humour, and a delight to watch.” The Australian, 1998

“Odyssey is a must-see.” - Sunday Herald Sun,1998

“Litras is an extraordinarily talented performer.” - The Age, 1998

Malay Mail, 2001

New Zealand Listener, 2003

2000 Drama Victoria Award - Best Performance by a Theatre Company for Young People

RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Page prepared by Barbara Philip - January 15, 2008